Better Render Distance

Mod

by Warma99

Improves render distance by making it perfectly spherical, culling diagonal chunk sections and entities for better performance.

Type

Mod

CurseForge Downloads

123,146

CurseForge ID

1452355

Modrinth Downloads

453,668

Modrinth ID

iRXmuz7a

Last Updated

Oct 27, 2026

Description

Better Render Distance

Minecraft's render distance was changed from a cube to a cylindrical shape back in 1.18. The problem is that this shape isn't actually a cylinder but rather a rounded rectangle. This mod optimizes this.

Performance Benefits

I get about a 10-15% boost on my system. Impacts both the CPU and the GPU. It could create a larger benefit for lower end systems.

Lightweight

Built to be lightweight and uses optimized functions. When Sodium is installed, Better Render Distance hooks into Sodium’s own occlusion culler to keep overhead as low as possible.

What Does The Mod Do?

This mod makes three optimizations to improve upon this.

Circular Horizontal Distance

Changes the render distance formula to be as a perfect circle as it can be which reduces the overextended diagonals.

Comparison between Vanilla render distance and BRD render distance.

Spherical Render Shape

Upgrades the shape from a cylinder to a sphere. Which extends the diagonal culling from only being done horizontally to vertically as well.

Vertical Render Distance (Configurable)

Ships with vertical distance set to the Balanced preset by default. Useful especially at higher render distances.

Configuration

Available in Sodium’s Video Settings. You can toggle the optimizations on/off and adjust the vertical culling amount.

Sodium Settings Menu

Auto Vertical Scale setting that includes three presets (Performance / Balanced / Quality) which automatically adjust Vertical Scale based on your current Render Distance.

The manual adjustment slider is disabled when the Auto setting is enabled.

Mod Compatibility

Compatible with all the popular performance mods. If you find an incompatibility please report it and I will check it out.

Updates & Future Plans

I will be updating this mod to every stable Minecraft release. I have additional optimization ideas planned, but they’ll be explored and added over time.

I am also looking into porting back to popular older versions of Minecraft. Check back later if a version you are looking for isn't currently supported.